FALL RIVER — Two children were seriously hurt Friday when a man allegedly entered his ex-girlfriend's Fall River apartment, kidnapped his 6-month-old daughter and set the apartment on fire, police said.

BRIAN FRAGA

FALL RIVER — Two children were seriously hurt Friday when a man allegedly entered his ex-girlfriend's Fall River apartment, kidnapped his 6-month-old daughter and set the apartment on fire, police said.

The children, 6-year-old Keraliz Hernandez and her 3-year-old brother, Kelvin, were treated for smoke inhalation. They were both listed in critical condition.

Fall River police arrested Luis Berrios, 20, of Norton, charging him with nine counts of attempted murder, kidnapping a minor by a relative, home invasion and arson at the Watuppa Heights housing project. Police have returned the baby to her mother.

On Friday, a Fall River District Court judge revoked Mr. Berrios' bail from an April arrest in Taunton on marijuana and cocaine possession charges. He will be held without bail for 60 days. Bail was set at $750,000 in his new case.

Police said Mr. Berrios drove to 18B Watuppa Heights at 12:30 a.m. Friday. His former girlfriend, Kedys Torres — the mother of their 6-month-old daughter, Kiomara — was not home. Ms. Torres is also the mother of the two injured children.

Defense lawyer John J. Connors said Mr. Berrios dated Ms. Torres for five years. He said the defendant was not happy with the situation when he went to her apartment.

"I think it's a situation that he never meant to happen, but it got out of control," Mr. Connors said.

Leilany Ortiz was baby-sitting Kiomara, her niece, who slept in an upstairs bedroom, while Keraliz and Kelvin stayed in an adjacent room. Ms. Ortiz, 27, was accompanied by her own six children in the apartment's first-floor living room.

Ms. Ortiz said she saw Mr. Berrios storm into the apartment and walk up the stairs. Minutes later, he came back down with Kiomara, walked outside and put the child inside his black Audi sedan, she said.

He returned to the apartment and walked back upstairs, said Ms. Ortiz, who added that he left a short time later, slamming the door behind him so hard that pictures fell off the living-room wall.

"The mattress was on fire. There was so much smoke I was suffocating," she said. "I tried to see where the other kids were, but it was too hot. I had to come back down and get my kids out.

"I was really scared."

Fall River police responding to the 911 call saw a large crowd outside the apartment, screaming and pointing at the smoke pouring from a second-floor window.

The officers tried to go upstairs to where the two trapped children were but were driven back by the intense heat and smoke.

Fall River firefighters arrived within seconds, allowing fire Lt. Michael Cabral to enter the apartment and rescue the children.

Keraliz was transported to St. Anne's Hospital and later airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Kelvin was taken to Charlton Memorial Hospital and later transported to Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence. Their mother visited them both Friday.

Kedys Torres told police she was returning home from a bar Thursday night when Mr. Berrios called her around 11 p.m. and asked her where she was. Police said he then threatened he was going to her house to "break stuff."

Ms. Torres said she was driving home when Mr. Berrios called her again and told her he had already taken their daughter. She told police Mr. Berrios did not share joint custody or have visitation rights.

Keila Torres said her sister and Mr. Berrios dated but broke up months ago. It was not known Friday whether she had taken out a restraining order against Mr. Berrios.

Ms. Torres said she did not understand why Mr. Berrios would set a fire with the other two children in the next room.

"Why ... the kids? I don't get it," she said.

While police interviewed Kedys Torres at the hospital, Mr. Berrios called her cell phone. He reportedly told a police officer over the phone: "I know I'm going to get caught. How are the children?"

Mr. Berrios told police he would turn himself in. He dropped his daughter off at his father's house in Providence and drove back to Massachusetts, police said. Police picked up Kiomara and returned her to her mother.

He was pulled over by state police, who recognized his vehicle, on Interstate 95 northbound near Interstate 495.

While being questioned by police, Mr. Berrios allegedly said, "Everything got out of control," and admitted to using a lighter to set a blanket on fire. He told police he did not think the fire would spread to the room where the other children were.

Mr. Berrios is scheduled to return Nov. 23 for a pre-conference hearing in Fall River District Court.